CRAIG Whyte has been accused of using his children as bargaining chips in a row with his estranged wife over a Bentley.

CRAIG Whyte has been accused of using his children as bargaining chips in a row with his estranged wife over a Bentley.

Kim Whyte says the disgraced former Rangers owner threatened not to give her kids back to her if she refused to hand over the £60,000 car.

And a court yesterday heard claims that “a couple of heavies” were told to travel north and retrieve the car from the Highland castle the couple once shared. The allegations emerged as Kim got permission from a sheriff to have the Bentley sold.

She says Whyte owes her money and she wants to auction the car to pay the debt.

Kim’s solicitor, Jenna Sharp, said of Whyte: “He threatened not to return the children after he had taken them on holiday, putting her under duress to release the vehicle.”

Inverness Sheriff Court heard that the Bentley was kept at the back of the Whytes’ former marital home, Castle Grant in Grantown-on-Spey.

Kim had successfully applied to the court for an order banning Whyte from disposing of the car.

But Ms Sharp said that, despite the legal move, “information was received that the debtor (Whyte) told Mrs Whyte he was sending someone to get the vehicle”.

She said the Bentley was then impounded by sheriff officers, who had received information that “a couple of heavies were coming to get it”. It was taken to a secure location this week.

Charles McCaffray, of sheriff officers Scott and Co, said: “We heard that the vehicle was going to be removed so we uplifted it and have it secured.

“Our next move is to arrange for it to be taken to the central belt to get it sold.

“The auctioneers up here are not in a position to value and sell the car.”

Sheriff Philip Mann gave permission for the Bentley to be sold. Whyte was not represented and neither he nor Kim were in court.

Kim last night told the Record she didn’t wish to talk about the feud with her estranged husband.

Whyte met Kim when he was a young businessman in Glasgow. And when he fled to Monaco after his company, Vital UK, collapsed, he took her with him.

He married Kim in 2000 in a lavish ceremony at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Miami. The couple then returned to Monaco, where they were said to be regulars on the party scene.

They left the principality suddenly and ended up in Costa Rica, but then returned to Scotland in 2006 and set up home at Castle Grant.

Whyte remained at the castle after he and Kim separated in 2009. They are now going through divorce proceedings.

After the split, Whyte began a relationship with a 32-year-old Swedish blonde, Izabella Andersson, who has a degree in media and communication science.

Izabella is fluent in English and Dutch and speaks conversational French. She is doing an MBA course in international management at the University of Monaco.

Whyte took her to a game at Ibrox while in charge of Rangers, and was recently photographed with her at a Monaco tennis club.

Kim had to borrow money to buy another house in Grantown after moving out of Castle Grant.

She has claimed that Whyte is in breach of his mortgage conditions for the 14th century pile because the building is no longer insured.

Kim’s dad Hugh Martin, 71, a former steelworks owner, delivered a scathing verdict on Whyte after Rangers were plunged into administration in February.

He said: I’m afraid that Craig doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word honesty.

“I got on very well with him while he was with Kim, but I don’t know how he earned money.

“He was always very guarded and secretive and didn’t like to talk about business – which I found very strange, considering he was family.

“I’d hear stories about debts and companies going bust but he never spoke about any of it.”

Whyte, 41, was portrayed as a “knight in shining armour” when he bought Rangers from Sir David Murray for £1 in May last year.

Reports described the venture capitalist as a super-rich financial whizzkid who had made £20,000 from share deals while at school.

But even before he took over, some senior figures at Ibrox were concerned that he didn’t have enough money to own the club.

When the Record revealed last summer that Whyte used cash from London agency Ticketus to take control at Ibrox – and handed them the rights to Rangers’ future season ticket income in exchange – he denied our story and called us liars.

He said: “I can categorically assure supporters that when I launched a takeover bid for the club it was funded entirely from one of my companies.”

But following Rangers’ slide into administration – triggered by his decision to stop paying the club’s tax bills – he was forced to admit we had been right.

The administration began on February 14, just 10 months after Whyte’s chaotic reign began.

It was believed at the time the club owed the tax authorities £9million. It later emerged that the true figure was nearer £15million.

An SFA investigation into the scandal found that Whyte was not a “fit and proper person” to run a football club.

The investigation panel found he was guilty of “scandalous business activities” at Rangers, and presided over a “complete breakdown of corporate governance” at the club.

They added: “Craig Whyte’s interests lay only with Craig Whyte.

“There are a number of aspects to his behaviour which will no doubt be the subject of continued investigation by appropriate agencies.”

Whyte refused to appear before the panel, claiming he’d been told by police that his safety would be at risk if he returned to Scotland. But the panel were given “clear information” from the Strathclyde force that Whyte had been told no such thing.

They branded his stance “scandalous and disgraceful”.

Whyte was fined £200,000 by the SFA and banned from the Scottish game for life, but he reacted to the judgment with contempt.

He said: “I couldn’t care less. It makes no difference to my life whatsoever – and good luck collecting the money.”

The collapse of Rangers was far from the first financial failure Whyte had experienced.

His first business, plant hire firm Whyte Hire, went bust in the early 90s with debts of around £300,000.

The collapse set the tone for many of Whyte’s future dealings. And in 2000, he was banned for seven years from serving as a company director.

A BBC investigation claimed he may have broken the law by flouting the ban. He threatened to sue, but no proceedings were launched.

Whyte moved to Monaco after his boardroom ban – and the demise of 24 companies he was involved in.

He is now back in the millionaires’ playground, but he could soon face the prospect of answering questions from Scots detectives.

The Crown asked Strathclyde Police on June 25 to look into Whyte’s deal to buy Rangers, and the way the club’s finances were managed after his takeover.